- North African kingdom overtakes South Africa, driven by long-term industrial strategy and infrastructure investment.
Rabat – For the first time in 2025, Morocco has ascended to the position of the most industrialized economy in Africa, according to a new report released by the African Development Bank (AfDB). While the Kingdom has benefited from South Africa’s industrial decline, the report attributes the rise primarily to a pro-industry political strategy initiated two decades ago.
Key Drivers: Investment, Industrial Zones, and Tangier Med
The AfDB report highlights several pillars of the Moroccan model, including sustained growth in public and foreign investment, the expansion of industrial zones, and increasingly connected infrastructure. A central asset is the Port of Tangier Med, now ranked as Africa’s largest port.
As a result, Morocco’s industrial base has diversified well beyond phosphates and automotive manufacturing to include promising sectors such as aeronautics.
“Every aircraft produced after 2005 has at least one essential component manufactured in Morocco,” explains Abdelmalek Alaoui, President of the Moroccan Institute of Strategic Intelligence and author of Morocco: The Challenge of Power. “Betting on aeronautics and automotive was a strategic decision. When a country invests heavily in high-quality infrastructure—connectivity, ports, telecommunications—it attracts major international investors, alongside domestic players. That is how you move up a category.”
The Challenge: Rising Disparities and Job Creation
Despite these achievements, the report cautions that Morocco faces a significant challenge: ensuring that industrial prosperity reaches all parts of the country.
“There is a winning Morocco—close to ports, integrated into globalization—and a Morocco of margins and remote territories,” Alaoui notes. “This forced industrialization has widened the gap between the very wealthy and those lower on the social pyramid.”
Indeed, a separate AfDB report from last month found that while Morocco has a high number of enterprises, it struggles to generate sufficient employment for its growing population.
Morocco Nears the “Industrial Frontier”
Morocco is now described as “the economy closest to the frontier of industrial development,” with a score of 0.8415—just 0.1585 points shy of the maximum value of 1. The study’s authors note that this gap underscores the remaining room for improvement, even for the top-ranked economy.
Regional Rankings: North Africa Leads, South Africa Declines
- 2nd Place – South Africa (0.8396): Remains a continental industrial power but continues a gradual decline in industrial competitiveness.
- 3rd Place – Egypt (0.7827): Consolidates its position.
- 4th Place – Tunisia (0.7760): Maintains its rank after overtaking Egypt in 2020.
- Significant gap after the top four: Mauritius ranks 5th (0.6731), trailing by more than 0.1 points.
- Completing the top 10: Algeria (0.6661), Eswatini (0.6509), Senegal (0.6368), Namibia (0.6295), and Côte d’Ivoire (0.6173).
Regional Overview
North Africa remains the continent’s most industrialized region, followed by Southern Africa. East, West, and Central Africa lag considerably behind, despite steady progress in recent years. The first two regions concentrate the bulk of manufacturing output, export sophistication, and industrial competitiveness.
BY: The Times Union
